


Days of Our Lives

by Enmy



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:20:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29259606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enmy/pseuds/Enmy
Summary: Sasuke's family died in a tragic accident so he had to move with Kakashi but the changes in Sasuke's life don't end there. Soon after that a new member enters the new family changing everything.
Relationships: Gaara/Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 18
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

Days of Our Lives

Sasuke was looking out the window absentminded. His fan girls were all gathered around Sakura's desk whispering something about him none the less but he didn't care.

In the school's yard a group of older students were playing football. They didn't have enough players but that didn't stop them apparently. Sasuke was not interested in the game; he just watched them play for lack of anything better to do until class started.

"Hey!" The raven turned to his red head friend who took the seat next to Sasuke.

"Hey! You look like shit. What happened?"

Gaara looked at Sasuke for a brief moment "Thanks for pointing that out, you are indeed a great friend." He pretended to be insulted and since his face was emotionless as always one would think that he was, but Sasuke knew better. Gaara had been Sasuke's best friend, no, only friend for years and they understood each other very well. None of them was good at showing emotions or at communicating with others but that didn't matter because they didn't really need any other friends.

Sasuke's whole world revolved around his brother, Itachi and his mother. He loved his father too of course but they were not very close since he had a cold and distant personality. Sasuke resembled him and he figured that was the exact reason for which he felt closer to his mother and brother who were friendly and outgoing. After all they do say that opposites attract.

Then Sasuke met Gaara in school and since he was quiet he seemed to be the least annoying person in class, so when they had to work in pairs for a project Sasuke chose Gaara as a partner and Gaara didn't say no. They stayed friends after that and were partners in every school activity that required one.

"I had a fight with a dirt bag the other day. He talked trash about Temari." Gaara's only weakness was Temari and Kankurou his siblings. Their mother had died giving birth to him and his father blamed him for the loss. He never really got over the death of the love of his life and was trying to get over the pain by working all the time and drowning himself in alcohol every now and then, forgetting about the kids most of the time. They reminded him of her after all. Temari felt the need to become the responsible one in the family and she took care of her brothers in spite of her own young age.

"You don't look like you got much sleep last night either."

"You know me, I don't sleep much but the kid's mom called dad last night so he and Temari argued a lot because of me. Kankurou tried to stop them but…."

"Sorry."

"What for? You didn't do anything."

"I know, I just…"

"It's OK, I understand." Sasuke smiled.

"That's why you're my best friend." Gaara smiled back.

"I know."

Iruka sensei, their math teacher entered the classroom holding a bunch of papers. They all greeted him and he started talking about the upcoming test when the door suddenly opened.

Sasuke's eyes moved towards the door in front of which a blond was standing.

"You're late again, Naruto!" Iruka scolded halfheartedly and said boy raised a hand to scratch the back of his head in a trademark gesture with a sheepish grin on his face.

"Sorry! I guess I forgot to put my alarm on." Most kids in class laughed but Sasuke didn't feel like it. The white bandages that could be seen for a moment under Naruto's long sleeves when he raised his hand made Sasuke think that something was off about his classmate today but he dismissed the thought. It was none of his concern after all. Still his eyes followed the blond as he walked to his seat behind Sasuke and never left him until Naruto noticed him staring and stuck his tongue out at him.

Sasuke mentally scolded himself for being interested even for one moment in the class clown, the master prankster of Konoha Gakuen and the school's loudest student so he turned around to face the teacher once again.

"Most of you did a good job with your homework." Iruka was walking between the desks giving them their corrected homework papers for them to see what mistakes they made "I gave you this homework so that I can see what we still need to work on and I am pleased with most of you" he handed Sasuke his paper which was checked as correct from top to bottom "but some of you need to work harder" he looked at Kiba as he gave him his paper "and some of you need to actually start working if you don't want to fail" he gave Naruto his paper which was almost blank. He stopped at Naruto's desk. "What am I supposed to do with you, Naruto? You do realize that you need some really good grades from now on if you want to pass the grade at all?" Some kids laughed, though they were trying to be as quiet about it as possible to not attract the teacher's attention upon them.

"Yeah…"

"I'm going to assign you a tutor?"

"A tutor?" the blond looked confused for a moment but then a grin spread on his face. "Can it be Sakura-chan?" said girl had a horrified look on her face.

"No, it can't be Sakura. It might be a bit distracting…. It will be Sasuke." The raven looked from his teacher to the pouting blond.

"But why the teme?"

"Naruto, watch your language! Because he has good grades and because I trust him to put you to work if I ask him to."

Great, Sasuke thought, just what I needed…not. He was going to be stuck with the loudmouth for hours after school every day for the rest of the year if he wanted to make a miracle. Didn't Iruka realize what he was demanding of him? Sasuke labeled this the worst day of his life…he was doomed.

As soon as the bell rang for the first break of the day Sakura rushed by Sasuke's side. She looked shy and was blushing but she was determined to ask Sasuke for a date before Ino did and she knew that Ino would do it without hesitating since she wasn't as shy as Sakura was.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun… would you…" Sasuke became irritated as soon as the pink haired girl invaded his personal space. She wasn't standing that close but from Sasuke's point of view, when fan girls were concerned, anything closer than two meters was too close and Sakura was closer than that. Ino, angry at her friend for taking the initiative first, rushed by her side and hooked her friend's arm. Great, now there were two of them. He gave Gaara a pleading look but the red head wasn't going to do anything about this yet.

"Sakura-chan, go on a date with me tomorrow! Ne?" Sasuke thanked kami for the help that came from the blond behind him. Ok, maybe it wasn't like that. Naruto had no reason to help Sasuke and everyone in class knew that the blond had a crush on Sakura.

"Not in a million years Naru-tard." She almost spat the words with disgust. Something about her tone and insult made Sasuke frown.

"Ow, why not?" Naruto pouted and Sasuke wondered why he didn't feel insulted after being called a retard.

"Because I like Sasuke!"

"What does he have that I don't?" She rolled her eyes.

"Where should I even begin? He's handsome, smart, cool, talented and ambitious." Sasuke frowned again. That's all the fan girls ever saw in him. Maybe he should feel good about the praise but he didn't. It wasn't as if he didn't want to be acknowledged but he only cared for his family's approval especially Itachi's. Whenever Itachi praised him for an achievement he felt happy and would smile one of his rare smiles reserved for his close ones, but Sakura's praise felt…shallow, as if she didn't know him at all and she only cared about his looks and popularity, things he didn't feel proud of.

"I'm handsome too!"

"With those wired scars on your cheeks? Yeah right!" Naruto didn't say another word and Sasuke turned to look at him thinking that Sakura might have hit a sensitive spot. It seemed that for a brief moment Naruto's bright blue eyes turned to a darker shade but then he thought the light might have played a trick on his eyes because Naruto pouted.

"But I am good looking…" he said on a playful tone raising from his seat and making a step closer towards Sakura who in turn pushed Ino back, further away from Naruto "so give me a chance." One more step made the girls go back to their seats defeated and Sasuke felt less tensed. He made a mental note to thank the blond later.

"Now what?" Classes ended for the day and everyone was gathering their things to leave but not Sasuke. No, he had to spend a few more hours with Naruto making sure that he did his homework for once. He was standing by Naruto's desk preventing him from leaving.

"Remember what Iruka said? We've got work to do!"

"Your place or the library?" Sasuke was expecting Naruto to throw a fit and make things even harder for him but he did not.

"Why not yours?"

"Then library it is!" Naruto passed by Kiba's seat next to him since Sasuke didn't seem to move any time soon and headed for the door. Sasuke caught up with him wondering if the boy in front of him was really Naruto.

In the teacher's lounge Iruka was grading papers but he couldn't concentrate very well. He knew he had to get the work done before he went home that day but a certain blond kept on invading his mind. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and he knew who it belonged to, after all he and Kakashi were the only teachers left in the room.

"I'll finish soon then we can go." He said not looking up from the test he was grading since Kakashi was waiting for him.

"You're worried about him, aren't you?" Iruka raised his head to face Kakashi and nodded.

"Do you think I did the right thing by making Sasuke his tutor? They don't get along well."

"Is that really what's bothering you?" the grey haired teacher asked with obvious concern in his voice. "It will be fine, I promise. You trust me don't you?"

"You know I do but I don't know about this. It's not only up to us and things don't look so good. After every day of paperwork and talking I feel less confident."

"Don't. You need to be strong for both of us and for Naruto. Naruto needs as much help as he can get and who knows…he and Sasuke might end up being friends." Iruka sighed but nodded.


	2. Chapter 2

Sasuke was heading to his classroom early in the morning. He arrived earlier than usual since he woke up earlier and didn't feel like wasting time in bed. He didn't expect anyone at this early our so he stopped at the sudden sound of a door opening.

The door to the nurse's office opened and Naruto came out waving good-bye to someone who was still inside unseen by the raven.

"Thanks Shizune-neechan, see you later." He grinned as the nurse said something that Sasuke couldn't hear from that distance. After closing the door Naruto noticed the other's presence and their eyes met for a brief moment before Naruto headed towards the classroom.

Sasuke wanted to stop him and ask about the bandaged arm that he clearly saw since the blond was wearing a t-shirt but decided against it. Instead he changed his destination and went to the roof where he could be alone. The roof was his favorite place in school since it was quiet. He and Gaara were the only ones going there as far as he knew and it was fan girl free, just the way he liked it. He wrote a text to Gaara and put his headphones on to listen to some music before class.

"Why did you come here? It's a bit cold outside and the class is empty." Gaara leaned against the wall next to Sasuke who took the headphones off.

"Naruto is there."

"Why is he early, he's usually late?"

"How should I know, I didn't talk to him."

"So how was your little date the other day?" Gaara teased his friend and received a famous Uchiha glare that would make anyone else dig their own grave, but not Gaara.

"It wasn't a date. It was a study session."

"So it wasn't that bad." The red head noted.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you said study session not torture session. It means that you got the work done."

"The only thing we got done was homework and he is far behind with everything but I can't complain too much, he's trying."

"Are you doing it again today?"

"I have to. He needs a good grade in the upcoming test."

"Do you think we could hang out sometime after school this week?" Sasuke shook his head.

"This weekend maybe. You can come over to my place."

When Sasuke and Gaara entered the classroom some of their classmates were already there. Shikamaru was napping with his head on the desk while Chougi was eating chips next to him. On the other side of the classroom Sakura, Ino and Tenten were gathered around Hinata's desk chatting about something that definitely didn't interest Sasuke. Naruto and Kiba were also there and surprisingly they were more quiet than usual which made Sasuke just a bit curious.

Naruto must be up to something, a prank maybe, and Sasuke would lie if he said that Naruto's pranks weren't funny. When academics were concerned the blond was a dead last but his pranks were hilarious and he never got caught. It was his prankster reputation that made everyone know it was him when something was wrong but no one could prove his involvement.

Sasuke remembered the only time he got a bad grade in a test. He spent all weekend studying for that test and was sure that he got more than 90% right. When Kurenai, the chemistry teacher gave them the graded papers and he saw the F he opened the book to check the answers because he couldn't believe his eyes. Then Naruto started laughing, he laughed so hard that he almost fell off his chair and Kiba next to him was smashing his head against his desk in a fit of laughter.

"Sensei you were supposed to match our answers with the answer grid for the chemistry test not with the one for the math test." Naruto said, basically telling her that it was his doing and he kept on laughing even after he was sent to the principal's office and got himself detention for a whole week. After that all teachers suspected him whenever something went wrong and he never denied it once but he never stopped either.

"So are you still going to do it today?" Kiba asked on a low voice that wasn't low enough.

"Shut up dog-face, do you want them to hear?" Naruto asked but Sasuke didn't sense anger in his voice so maybe the blond didn't even care if their conversation was overheard or not.

Why was he listening to their conversation? Why was he interested in the first place? This was not like him, Sasuke thought but he couldn't stop, he was curious. What he was even more curious about was why Naruto let everyone know that he was behind the pranks when they couldn't prove anything. Why didn't he deny any involvement?

"Sorry."

"Of course I'll do it but I need your help."

"I'm in."

"Good, then you know the plan."

Sasuke couldn't make anything out of the conversation he overheard and thought about it for hours but things only started to make sense right after lunch when they had literature with Kakashi.

The gray haired man entered the classroom looking like a total mess. His hair was a mess and his clothes were wrinkled and stained.

"If anyone finds a book written by our prestigious Jiraya-sama, your history teacher, please bring it to me." The whole class laughed since 'the prestigious Jiraya-sama' was a porn writer, the whole school knew that and Kakashi was probably his biggest fan in school. He must have searched in all odd places for that book, under desks or file cabinets. The teachers' lounge must be a mess by now too.

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at the way Kakashi talked about their history teacher, no one else would put 'prestigious' and Jiraya in the same sentence even though the man was not a bad teacher. So Sasuke put two and two together and took a piece of paper to write a note 'Did you take his Icha Icha Paradise?' He tossed the note on the desk behind him without looking back. After a brief moment the note fell back on his desk and he picked it up to read it.

'Of course not!' came Naruto's reply.

'I don't believe you. '

'I don't care.'

'What did you do?'

'Why do you care?'

'I've never seen Kakashi so depressed or so messy. I guess I'm curious.'

'And what are you going to do if I tell you?'

'Nothing.'

'Then I won't tell you.'

'What do you want me to do?'

'Help us?'

'How?'

'Keep the book for a few days then return it to Kakashi.'

'So you do have it!'

'Of course I don't. The first place he will look when class ends is my bag and desk, then Kiba's.'

'Fine I'll help. Now tell me what did you do?'

'During lunch Kakashi got Jiraya's latest Icha Icha Harem with autograph, dedication and everything. That's what I took. ;P I'm sure he was looking forward to reading it during class today lol.' Now that's evil. Sasuke thought. Kakashi could barely last a day without his old Icha Icha books that he must know by heat but without a new one that he just acquired…he was a dead man. He smirked at the brilliance of Naruto's plan and timing. This was going to go in Konoha Gakuen history. He even noticed Ten Ten taking a picture of the poor teacher in front of them and then typing something on her phone. She must have shared it with other students in school.

'So why doesn't Kiba keep it?'

'He can't, his sister will find it among his stuff when she cleans.'

'Then you keep it for a while then put it back.'

'I can't.'

'Why?'

'Because I can't.'

If he takes the book home the teachers won't find it so why can't he keep it for a few days? Sasuke was curious why but pushing more notes on Naruto was not going to get him any answers. That's why he decided to approach the subject later, when it was just the two of them in the library.

Naruto was working on his homework with Sasuke when the latter stopped and looked at the blond. Naruto was surprisingly quiet and hardworking when it was just the two of them, unlike the loudmouth he was in class especially when Kiba or Sakura were around. Sasuke's feeling that something was off about Naruto just deepened. A voice in his head kept on asking questions, why was Naruto injured and why did he hide it? Why did he keep on trying to get a date with Sakura although she was mean to him, even more than necessary? And why wouldn't he answer certain questions? But there was also another voice saying that it didn't matter, after all Naruto was just an idiot that most kids in school didn't like even though they enjoyed his pranks, a kid who only had one friend even though he made several attempts to befriend others, a looser who was never going to achieve anything in life with his terrible grades, a kid who was too spoiled to realize that he had to work in order to become a respected member of society and who was probably assuming that his parents will take care of things every time he messes up. No wonder Iruka was so concerned for him.

"What?" Naruto caught Sasuke staring at him.

"Your prank was amusing but I don't want to be a part of it." Naruto frowned.

"But you said you would if I tell you what I did!"

"I changed my mind, I don't want detention." Naruto muttered something that sounded like 'model student ass hole'. "Dobe."

"Teme. I never took you for a liar though."

"Why can't you take it? If you keep it home until Friday the teachers won't know."

"So now you tell me how to plan a prank?" Naruto asked annoyed.

"No, I was just saying. Why don't you do it?"

"It's in the nurse's office on the book shelf, can't miss it. There's only one shelf with books." Naruto said ignoring Sasuke's previous question.

"Why are you telling me this? I don't care where it is."

"Just in case you change your mind and decide to keep your word."

"You do realize that I can tell a teacher right now and you can get detention."

"I know."

"How come you don't care?" Anger filled Sasuke's body even though he couldn't understand why and he raised his voice a bit too much attracting angry stares from the librarian and curious glares from other students.

"About what?"

"About anything. About school, detention, getting in trouble in general. I bet you get in fights too since you have injuries on your arm." Out of instinct Naruto pulled his sleeves although nothing was revealed from under his long sleeved shirt "I saw you coming out of the nurse's office this morning, remember?"

"Oh yeah."

"So?"

"So what?"

"You didn't answer my question, dobe."

"I do care. I wouldn't be here if I didn't." Even though Sasuke was practically yelling at him, Naruto kept his voice calm.

"What do you mean?"

"You said that I didn't care about school. If I didn't I wouldn't be here catching up."

"Then why didn't you start studying earlier like everyone else, why did you leave it until Iruka had to take drastic measures?" Naruto paused for a long moment apparently looking at a group of students who were sitting at a table behind Sasuke but not really seeing them. His eyes were empty, without their usual brightness, a sight Sasuke was not familiar with.

"Would you have done this if I was the one who asked you to do it instead of Iruka?" Sasuke was shocked by the question and even more by the obvious answer, no. "I'm not as smart as you are, teme, and if I don't understand something I lose interest fast, that's why I fell behind. I also couldn't ask anyone in class for help besides Kiba and we both know that Kiba's grades are shit."

That day Sasuke stopped at the nurse's office before going home to take a certain book and keep his word to the blond. The curious voice in his head won the battle.


	3. Chapter 3

Sasuke came to school after a five days absence. He was looking out the window, pretending to be indifferent as always but he was not. He was aware of every movement and every whisper in class. They were all talking about him with pity which made him boil with anger. He didn't need their pity.

"Do you want to leave this place?" Gaara asked, feeling his friend's discomfort. Sasuke nodded and they both left the room.

Five days ago Kakashi interrupted Anko's class and asked for Sasuke to be excused. The teacher took him to the teacher's lounge, which was empty at the time since it was the middle of class and told him to take a seat. The teacher looked concerned which made Sasuke wonder what had happened but waited patiently for Kakashi to speak.

"I'm afraid I have terrible news for you Sasuke. I was informed that your family was involved in a car accident this morning. Itachi is in the hospital but your parents didn't make it…..I'm sorry."

Sasuke froze in his seat as his mind was processing the information. His parents were dead, they weren't coming back. He was an orphan.

"I am your legal guardian now so you will have to move in with me." He knew what this meant and he knew the implications but it didn't feel real. Everything that was happening at that moment didn't feel like it was happening to him so the only thing he could do was nod.

A few days later Sasuke was at the cemetery standing next to Kakashi in front of his parents' graves but he still felt like in a dream. It wasn't his parents in those coffins that were being lowered in a pit. They were just some strangers he couldn't feel sorry for, random people he couldn't cry after. This will be over soon and he will go home and his mother will hug him and they will all eat dinner together. He looked around at the people present there, some of them were people he knew like Iruka sensei and some people his father worked with, some of them were crying but he didn't know why. His brain was shutting down every connection with the deceased. He didn't know the people in the coffins so why should he cry? They were his parents his reason told him, he should cry and he felt guilty for not doing so. He closed his eyes contemplating what was happening with him. His reason and feelings were contradicting each other. Was he going crazy or was it because of the shock? Was it denial or something else?

He opened his eyes and looked to the right feeling someone watching him. Farther away from the people attending the funeral, standing in the shade of a tree was a blond boy dressed in a grey shirt and blue jeans, his body half hidden behind the tree and his left arm around the trunk. Their eyes met for a moment and Sasuke suddenly felt like crying. It was real, everything was real. He was never going to see them again. He broke eye contact with the blond not wanting to be seen crying, lowered his head so that his black bangs covered his eyes as tears fell down his cheeks.

Sasuke stopped in the middle of the hallway as Naruto popped out of the nurse's office.

"Why were you there?" he demanded with anger in his voice.

"What are you talking about?" the blond looked confused as he was taken by surprise by the initiated conversation.

"At the cemetery. Why were you there?"

"I thought you could use someone who understands."

"Don't make me laugh. You don't understand anything about me and I don't need your pity!"Sasuke spat with anger and disgust. He left with Gaara in tow towards the roof.

"It wasn't out of pity." Naruto almost whispered, his words vanishing in the empty hallway never to be heard by anyone but himself.

Gaara and Sasuke were sitting on a bench on the school's roof and Gaara was looking at Sasuke as if he wanted to say something but wasn't sure if he should.

Gaara didn't usually hesitate to say what was on his mind, especially not to Sasuke but since this was a difficult time for his friend he didn't know how to approach him. Sasuke noticed this and it was annoying him even more.

"What?" He asked.

"Don't you think you were too harsh with him? He didn't do anything wrong."

"I don't want his pity. I don't want him to pretend that he cares. And to think he has the nerve to say he understands…"

"I won't pretend that I understand what you're going through but I still don't think you should release your frustration on him."

"Are you on his side now?" Sasuke almost yelled, angry and frustrated.

"No. I was just telling you what was on my mind since you asked."

Sasuke leaned against the wall and looked at the blue sky above them. It was the same blue as the eyes of the blond boy from the cemetery.

He decided to confide in his best friend hoping that he would feel better after talking to someone and Gaara was someone he could always trust not to laugh at him and not to tell anyone.

"Sometimes it still doesn't feel real. It's as if all this is happening to someone else…does it even make any sense?"

"Yes, although I don't know what it's like."

"I don't expect you to. Damn, I don't even understand what I feel myself. I just want things to go back to the way they were." Sasuke covered his face with his hands.

"They won't though."

"I know…I guess I just want to forget that." Gaara moved closer to Sasuke and cupped his cheek with one hand before their lips met in a deep kiss. Sasuke's eyes were wide in shock but he didn't push his friend. "Why did you do that?"

"You said you wanted to forget."

"You know I like you, but not like that."

"It doesn't matter. I know I like you too but this doesn't mean anything. I was never good at figuring out feelings."

"So will you be alright if we don't do this again."

"Yeah, if that's what you want."

"I don't want to ruin our friendship…"

"You can't do that." Sasuke smiled for the first time since the funeral.

"You know. I think you did take my mind off that shit. I feel a bit better now."

"Good. So are you going to meet him at the library today?"

"Who? Naruto?" Sasuke paused for a moment to think if he should or not "Who knows, he might not even be there."

"You should apologize when you see him."

"Why do you insist so much that I do that? What's going on between you two?"

"Nothing, but I feel sorry for him. Didn't you see how people treat him? No one wants to befriend him."

"He has Kiba."

"Not really." Sasuke looked puzzled at Gaara silently asking him to elaborate. "When Kabuto and his gang attacked him last year, Kiba ran away and left Naruto to fight alone. Naruto never blamed him though."

Sasuke and Gaara didn't go to classes that day, spending the whole time on the roof and Sasuke was grateful. Kakashi had asked him if he was ready to go to school that morning and he thought he was, he thought that school would take his mind off of things but he had been wrong. His classmates would constantly talk about that and remind him that he was now and orphan.

Opening the door to the library Sasuke was surprised to see Naruto sitting at their usual table trying to figure out his math homework. He was tapping his chin with the tip of his pencil, brows furrowed in concentration.

"I'm surprised to see you here, dobe." Sasuke took a seat in the chair opposite of Naruto. The blonde raised his eyes from his notebook and rested his head against his palm.

"That should be my line." Sasuke smirked.

"As if I could let you fall even further behind. Iruka would have my head for that."

"I thought you ditched school today though."

"I did, but I'm back. Are you having problems with that?" Sasuke leaned over the table and grabbed Naruto's notebook to see what he was working on. "This one is easy, you start by…." He started to explain but stopped when he noticed that Naruto was not paying attention, his blue eyes being fixed on Sasuke. "What?"

"About this morning….I should apologize. I guess you were right after all, I don't understand how you feel. You knew your family and you lost them while I never knew mine so I guess I never lost anything to begin with."

This revelation took Sasuke aback. How could the carefree dobe be an orphan?

"I didn't know." Was all he could manage to say.

"Not many people do. The principal knows and a few teachers but that's about it and I would appreciate if you didn't tell anyone. I guess I thought that there was someone I could relate to now and I said too much. Sorry."

"What about Kiba? He knows, right?" Naruto shook his head.

"You're the only one in class who knows." Sasuke felt like a dagger hit him in his stomach. This wasn't right. If Kiba was Naruto's best friend he should know that much. Didn't Naruto trust him? But if what Gaara said was true then he could also understand Naruto's decision not to confide in him too much.

"So where do you live?"

"The orphanage. Can we get back to this homework now?" Sasuke nodded slowly realizing the discomfort in Naruto. He didn't want to talk, that much was obvious and even though Sasuke was curious he knew he shouldn't push the blond too much especially after he already behaved like a jerk.


	4. Chapter 4

Sasuke was sitting on his bed with a binder on his lap and a pen in his hand. He thought that writing would get his mind off of what was going to happen later that day but it didn't work. He couldn't think of anything remotely decent to write so he grabbed his phone and texted Gaara.

'You busy?'

'No. What's up?'

'Can we talk?'

'Do you want me to come over?'

'I'd like that.'

He put the phone and binder on the bed and went to the kitchen where Kakashi was finishing his coffee. It was 8 o'clock on a Saturday and the grey haired man was usually still in bed at this hour reading his perverted books or doing something Sasuke did not want to know with Iruka, but today was different. Today was a special day for Iruka and Kakashi got up like the supportive boyfriend he was to make some last minute preparations like shopping, cooking and cleaning. But first he needed his coffee and breakfast.

"Gaara is coming over." Sasuke opened the fridge and grabbed some salad, cheese and tomatoes to make a sandwich. He closed the fridge and placed everything on the counter then proceeded to make his breakfast.

"Did it have to be today?" Kakashi asked taking a bite of his omelet. "You know Naruto is coming today."

"I know."

"Look….Sasuke…I didn't plan for this to happen. I know you two don't get along but Iruka and I wanted to adopt Naruto for a while now and Iruka worked very hard to make this happen. Please don't ruin it for him!" Sasuke smashed the knife he was holding against the counter.

"So now it's my fault that you got stuck with me too?"

"I didn't say that. All I'm saying is that I want you to try and get along with Naruto."

"Seeing him every day in school was enough for me, I don't need everyone to think that we're stepbrothers or something."

"Anyway, Iruka and Naruto will be home in a few hours so try and de civil." Sasuke grabbed his plate and went to his room leaving it only to open the door to Gaara.

"Hey!" Sasuke grabbed Gaara's hand and led him to his room closing the door behind them "What's going on?" the read head asked.

Sasuke leaned against the door and sunk to the floor. "Iruka and Kakashi adopted Naruto. He's moving in today."

"I didn't know he was an orphan." Gaara made himself comfortable on Sasuke's bed. "Did you?"

"Yeah…he told me a while ago."

"So I suppose you're going to have a new brother." Sasuke narrowed his eyes in anger.

"I already have a brother, Itachi." He hissed.

"You're right, I'm sorry but maybe it won't be so bad."

"I don't know…it's just that things are changing too fast for me. First it was the accident and I had to move here and now this. Itachi didn't even wake up from that coma yet." Gaara moved to sit down beside Sasuke and grabbed his hand.

"You'll be fine."

"Can you…do it again?" Confused blue eyes met obsidian ones "Can you kiss me again?"

"Are you sure?" Sasuke nodded and after a brief moment Gaara leaned closer and gently kissed his friend on the lips. He was about to draw back when he felt Sasuke's hand grabbing his shirt and pulling him closer.

"Don't stop." They spent some time on the floor kissing, how much time Sasuke didn't know nor did he care but the sound of the front door opening made Gaara pull back and lean against the wall. Sasuke didn't stop him this time.

"I guess they're here." Sasuke got up, moved to his bed and Gaara followed him. "Do you feel better?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"No problem."

There was a knock on the door and Kakashi opened it just enough to get his head in.

"Will you come out to show Naruto around and have lunch with us?"

"Why can't you do it?" Sasuke asked still angry at the older man.

"I can't eat lunch in your place, Sasuke." Kakashi played dumb trying to make the atmosphere less tensed but only received an 'are you serious?' glare from the raven.

"That's not what I meant."

"Now remember our talk, Sasuke." With that Kakashi left the room.

"Are you hungry?" Sasuke asked.

"No. Shouldn't we go out there though?"

"No." He still felt overwhelmed with anger even though not as much as before. Why did Naruto have to move in and change things just as he was trying to get used to living with Iruka and Kakashi? Why didn't Kakashi tell him about them wanting to adopt Naruto? Wasn't he part of the household now? Or his opinion just didn't matter. The only person moving into that house that he ever expected and wanted was Itachi, once he got better. He felt angry with everyone and he needed to get that anger out of his system. He also had a target in mind.

They could hear Iruka's voice in the hall clearly which meant that he was close. He must be showing Naruto his new room which was next to Sasuke's.

That room was prepared for Naruto's arrival before Sasuke moved in the house and he only saw it ones when Kakashi showed him around the house upon his arrival. It had two yellow walls, the one opposite from the door and the one to the left, with a large window on it, the other two being white. The ceiling was also white and the wooden floor was dark brown covered with a yellow and orange carpet. The furniture was made of wood in both black and natural color and the bed was covered in an orange and red comforter with a matching pillow. The curtains covering the window were in two shades of beige with bamboo patterns. Sasuke was surprised to see a room decorated in such vivid colors in Kakashi's house but he didn't give it much thought at the time since it didn't look bad at all and he thought it must have been Iruka who decorated it. No one told him it was for Naruto.

Sasuke left his room with Gaara in tow to join Kakashi in the hall. Iruka and Naruto were in the room and the blond looked like he was about to cry.

"Thank you." The blond hugged Iruka, tears of happiness still watering his cheeks.

"You're welcome. Now start unpacking while Kakashi and I set the table, OK?" Kakashi and Iruka went into the kitchen leaving the two boys in front of Naruto's door.

"Why are you crying?" Sasuke asked from the doorway making the blond jump a little startled by the presence he didn't sense.

"Hello to you too." Naruto frowned trying to hide the embarrassment of being caught crying by two of his classmates. Sasuke tilted his head and leaned against the doorframe.

"I asked you a question. You should answer it."

"Fine. It's none of your damn business. How's that for an answer? It's not like you can understand or anything."

"Hm."

"Come on" Gaara tugged on Sasuke's sleeve "let's go!"

Naruto spent the entire weekend organizing his room or better said moving things from one place to another which was driving Sasuke crazy. Not that Sasuke cared what he did but he made a lot of noise and he left his door wide open so that Sasuke could see everything every time he went to the bathroom. He was trying to write but he couldn't concentrate with all the noise coming from the room next to his so he decided to do something about it.

Placing the binder on his bed he went to Naruto's room.

"What the hell are you doing, dobe?" he asked from the doorway.

"Organizing my stuff, what else?"

"Can't you do it quietly? And why does it take you so long it's not like you a have a lot of stuff?" Naruto placed some shirts in a drawer but then decided to move them to another one.

"I'm not good at this." Sasuke raised a brow.

"At what?"

"At filling such a big space, teme. I never had my own room before. Back at the orphanage I shared a room this big with three other kids."

"Wherever you put your stuff is just fine. No one cares if your shirts are in the bottom drawer or the top one. "

"And what's so bad if I want to make it perfect?"

"There's no such thing as perfect at this." Sasuke sat on Naruto's bed leaning against the wall figuring that since he couldn't get any writing done he could amuse himself at Naruto's expense. He looked around and saw some stuff randomly thrown on the bed. He picked Naruto's phone and went through the playlist frowning or raising an eyebrow at some of Naruto's favorites. I mean who has even heard of 'Foster the People' and there were about five songs from them. And what the f… is 'Fountains of Wayne'? The Killers…not bad, Sasuke had some of their songs on his playlist too, Duran Duran…he could think of a few good songs from them.

"Of course there is." Naruto nodded finally satisfied with his work. All his clothes were neatly organized in a wardrobe and three drawers. Some drawers were still empty but that didn't matter. Iruka did promise to take him shopping next week to get some new clothes since most of his clothes were second hand or hand me downs.

Sasuke's attention moved to a sketchbook that was also on the bad and he was about to open it when Naruto jumped on the bed trying to get it away from Sasuke.

"What the hell are you doing prying through my stuff? Give that back!" Sasuke was quick enough though to avoid Naruto's reach.

"No. I want to see it."

"What the fuck, teme?" Sasuke jumped off the bed and ran to hide in the bathroom since it was the closest door to Naruto's. Ignoring Naruto's banging on the door he opened the sketchbook on the first page.

"If you don't give me that sketchbook right now I'll tell Kakashi about your boyfriend." He heard Naruto say from the other side before he banged on the door once again.

"What are you talking about, dobe?" he flipped the page.

"Gaara."

"Gaara is my best friend."

"Yeah, and Kiba is mine but we don't kiss on the roof." Sasuke raised his head from the page with an unfinished drawing on it. It was different from the other drawings, it was a bit odd but not in a bad way because Sasuke got a warm feeling from it. There was a scarecrow with a raven sitting on its arm with a dolphin shaped medallion in its beak and beneath it was a fox. They were all beneath an unfinished cherry tree.

He opened the door still holding the sketchbook and faced Naruto.

"How do you know about that?"

"I saw you, obviously." The blond grabbed the sketchbook from Sasuke's loose grip and went back to his room with Sasuke in tow.

"Your drawings are good." That made Naruto's blue eyes look back at him in surprise.

"Thanks….I guess that's something coming from you."

"I mean it. They're really good." Now it was Sasuke's turn to be surprised. Sure he thought that Naruto's drawings were amazing and he had never seen anything like it done by kids their age but he just voiced his thoughts and he never did that unless he was talking to Gaara. He never meant to praise Naruto but he assumed that he was surprised again by something he didn't know about the blond. "The last one is different though."

"Yeah, I've been working on that for a while. I've been excited about being adopted and I guess I was just imagining the perfect family that I always wanted to have and now I finally had a chance to get."

"And how is that a family? We're not related dobe and why is Sakura there?"

"I know that, teme. I told you it's just a fantasy. The fact that Iruka adopted me already means a lot to me and I don't really care about not being related."

"What about Sakura? Do you really like her that much even though she is mean to you?"

"I can't help how I feel about her even though she is out of my league." Sasuke raised an eyebrow. How could the idiot think that annoying 'thing' was that good?

"What the hell are you talking about, dobe?"

"She's smart and pretty and she can also be nice and kind. Are you blind or something?"

"Or something."

"Yeah, gay."

"I'm not gay and that's not the point here. She can be nice but she isn't to you. "

"No, but she is to you."

"Let me ask you something. Do you think I want all that attention from the fan girls?"

"Why wouldn't you want it if you're not gay?" Sasuke sighed.

"Because they only like my face, they don't care who I am as a person. They know I'm popular and dating the popular guys is every shallow girl's dream."

"Oh, I never thought about it that way. Is that why you date Gaara?" Sasuke let his body fall on the bed. Naruto was prying into something he wasn't ready to share with anyone let alone with Naruto but since the blond found out he could just as well get it over with.

"We're not dating. We're just friends."

"Right, 'cause it's normal for friends to kiss." Naruto sat on the bed next to Sasuke watching the raven closely.

"After the accident I didn't feel anything because it was as if everything was happening to someone else and not me but every now and then I realized it was happening to me and I would freak out. I told Gaara that I just wanted to forget and he kissed me. I was so surprised that I got distracted from everything else. We still do it when I need a distraction. That's all there is to it."

"So it's like a drug or something?"

"Kind of."

"What about Gaara?" Sasuke turned his head from the ceiling to Naruto.

"What about him?"

"What does it mean to him?"

"Nothing. That's what he said anyway."

"Do you believe him?"

"Why wouldn't I? He's my best friend he wouldn't lie to me."

"Maybe." Naruto laid on the bed next to Sasuke. "What's it like? Do you like it?"

"I guess it's nice. Didn't you kiss anyone yet?"

"…" Sasuke shifted his position so that his arms were on both sides of Naruto's shoulders.

"You didn't!" He smirked.

"I want to do it with someone I like, what's wrong about that?"

"Like Sakura?" Sasuke teased.

"Yeah, but she wouldn't kiss me though."

"Maybe she would if you weren't such a dobe."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked annoyed.

"Sometimes you act like a looser and then you wonder why people hate you? How can you pull such funny pranks and tell everyone you did it? How can you hide that you are this talented at drawing?" Naruto turned his head to look out the window instead of Sasuke, suddenly finding something very interesting in the cloudy sky but the raven noticed the sadness in the blue eyes.

"They don't need to know." Naruto whispered. "I'm fine with being the looser."

"You're not making any sense, you know that?"

"Maybe, now get off of me before I push you off." Sasuke moved to his side of the bed and Naruto resumed organizing his desk.


	5. Chapter 5

Sasuke was ready for school and went into the kitchen to have breakfast.

"Where's Naruto?" Iruka asked.

"In his room I suppose." Sasuke shrugged as he grabbed a plate and proceeded to fill it with toast, eggs bacon and cherry tomatoes.

"He's not up yet? Go get him or we'll be late. I need to make the coffee." Sasuke rolled his eyes but left his seat and went to Naruto's door. He waited for a moment listening for any noises that would let him know that the blond was up and getting ready but there were none. He knocked on the door three times but got no answer so he decided to enter. He sat on the bed next to Naruto and shook him.

"Naruto ge…" Before he could finish his sentence Naruto bolted up and grabbed his wrist holding it tight. Sasuke wanted to draw back, frightened but he couldn't free his wrist from the strong grip.

"Let go, dobe." There was no answer and he looked Naruto in the eyes but instead of the bright blue that he was used to Naruto's eyes were dark blue with a shade of red and it seemed that the blond didn't recognize him. After a minute that seemed much longer to Sasuke Naruto blinked and his eyes turned to their normal blue color. He let go of Sasuke's wrist who massaged it since it hurt like hell. What the hell just happened? He wanted to ask but assumed it was not the right time, nor was there any time for chatting.

"You should get up or we'll be late." Naruto nodded and Sasuke was about to return to the kitchen when the blond grabbed his wrist again although it was a loose grip that Sasuke could escape if he wanted to.

"What did I do?" Sasuke looked at Naruto confused.

"You don't remember?" the blond shook his head. "We'll talk later, now get ready!"

Naruto joined everyone else at breakfast with a gloomy expression on his face. When his eyes met Sasuke's he shifted his gaze to the floor. He felt uncomfortable but then again so did Sasuke. He still didn't understand what had happened and why Naruto couldn't remember. His thoughts were interrupted by Iruka though.

"Now, Naruto don't forget about your appointment with Ibiki sensei this afternoon. I'll take you to his office after school." Naruto nodded.

After breakfast Kakashi drove them to school and all the way he tried to make the boys talk by making small talk with them but Sasuke was not in the mood. He felt awkward with Naruto sitting next to him in the back seat so he preferred to look out the window while Naruto was looking at his hands on his lap.

Fifteen minutes after Jiraya started presenting the next lesson Naruto threw a note on Sasuke's desk.

'What did I do? I hurt you didn't I?'

'It's fine, my wrist doesn't hurt anymore.'

'Did I do anything else?'

'No. What were you supposed to do?'

'Nothing.'

'Why can't you remember?'

'You startled me and I was asleep.'

'You didn't look like you just got up.'

'Well, I did. Sorry.'

But Sasuke was far from being satisfied with Naruto's answer, there had to more to it.

'Who is Ibiki sensei?'

'I don't know.' Damn this is going nowhere, Sasuke thought. How can he have so many secrets and why?

'Why are you going to see him?'

'Because Iruka wants me to.'

'Obviously, but why?'

'He believes it helps.'

'What?' Sasuke was about to pass the note back to Naruto when Jiraya smashed a book against the desk. Is there anything you would like to share with the class about our lesson, Sasuke?

"No sir."

When the bell rang Naruto bolted out of the room leaving Kiba behind shouting for him to wait up. Sasuke's eyes followed the dog lover as he left the room.

"Care to tell me what's wrong?" Gaara asked.

"He is acting weird."

"Who?"

"Naruto."

"Like how?"

"I don't know. I went to wake him up this morning and he almost broke my wrist and the next minute he asked me what he did."

"So it's true." Sasuke turned to face his blue eyed friend. He might get some information after all. "I don't know too much, only what Kankurou told me. He was there when Kabuto and his gang fought Naruto. It was four against one."

"I'm surprised they didn't kill him."

"Kankurou said the opposite. Naruto beat the shit out of them. Deidara and Sasori spent a few days in hospital and Kabuto a whole week. Suigetsu escaped with minor scratches thanks to Orochimaru sensei who broke the fight and took Naruto to the nurse's office."

"What the hell happened out there?"

"I don't know. I thought Kankurou was exaggerating but there were other witnesses like Karin and Haku. They can't all lie." Sasuke turned to look at said boy.

"Wait here. I'll go talk to him." He didn't wait for Gaara to say anything else and went to the desk that the pretty boy with girly features who had a fan club as big as Sasuke's shared with Neji. Haku and Negi were both very popular in school but unlike Sasuke their fan clubs included both boys and girls.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Sasuke interrupted their chatting addressing Haku.

"Of course."

"Not here, follow me." Haku gave Neji a confused look and the other shrugged but he still followed Sasuke in the hall.

"I want to know what happened last year between Naruto and Kabuto."

"They fought. It was Kabuto's fault, he started it and got what he deserved."

"Yeah I know that, what I want to know is how Naruto beat him and his gang."

"I don't know that. He was….different."

"Different? How?"

"Like he had fighting experience although that was the only time I saw him fight. He doesn't seem to be like that." Suddenly all the injuries, bandages and visits to the nurse's office started to make sense to Sasuke. Naruto must have fought a lot outside school but that still didn't explain what happened that morning.

"Do you remember anything else about him?" Haku shook his head.

"Why? Did something happen?"

"No. I was just trying to understand why people hate him so much."

"People hate what they fear, Sasuke and what happened out there was scary. It was a good thing Orochimaru sensei came when he did."

"Yeah…"

After school Kakashi and Sasuke took a taxi home. Kakashi opened the front door and Sasuke entered the house toeing his shoes off in front of the door.

"Ok, now can you tell me what crawled up your ass?" Kakashi asked receiving one of the famous death glares that he was already immune to. "You've been like this all day."

"Where did Iruka take Naruto?"

"To a psychologist."

"A shrink?"

"Yes, a shrink." Kakashi made his way into the kitchen and poured a glass of milk. Sasuke followed him.

"Why?"

"Because he needs to talk to someone." The silver haired teacher finished his milk in one go.

"Can't he talk to you or Iruka?"

"Of course he can, and you can too but do you? You didn't talk to us about the accident, about Itachi or about Naruto moving in although you hated the idea."

"Talking doesn't change anything."

"Apparently Naruto thinks the same way."

"What is he supposed to talk about?"

"Take you bag to your room and come help me with dinner."

After a few minutes Sasuke was back in the kitchen wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants that he only wore at home and took a seat at the table. Kakashi put some potatoes and a knife in front of him and he proceeded peeling them.

"You still didn't answer my question."

"Naruto grew up in an orphanage and his life there wasn't easy. That's what he needs to talk about."

"What happened to him?"

"That is not for me to tell you. The problem is that he didn't talk to us about it, we found out from other people, usually doctors. People feel better after they talk to someone about their problems and that's what both of you need to do. I'm not saying you need to talk to me or Iruka although we would like to know that you trust us enough to confide in us."

"So you're not going to tell me what happened to him?"

"No, you'll have to ask him that? It's not my story to tell and he would hate me if I did."

After finishing peeling the potatoes Sasuke excused himself and went to his room frustrated that one of the two people in the whole world who knew what was going on with Naruto wouldn't tell him anything. He put his headphones on and selected ATB on his phone then grabbed his binder to continue his story. About a half an hour later and a few pages later there was a knock on his door.

"Come in." Naruto entered the room closing the door behind him. Sasuke looked at him and paused the music on his phone taking the headphones out.

"Why are you standing there? Sit down. I don't bite."

"Sorry." Naruto didn't move he just looked at the floor.

"For what?"

"What happened… I didn't mean it."

"It's ok." Sensing that Sasuke wasn't angry with him gave Naruto more confidence and he raised his eyes to meet Sasuke's for a second before they moved to the blue binder in Sasuke's lap.

"What are you writing?"

"Nothing." He closed the binder. "Did you need something else?"

"I just thought that since you told me about the accident and such I could tell you about what happened this morning." Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you didn't know what happed."

"I can't remember what happened but I kind of know what happened."

"That doesn't make much sense." Naruto moved to sit on the bed and looked around. The room was similar in size to his except that it was a mirror image, the window being on the right wall. The wall opposite to the door and the one to the left were died dark blue, almost black and so was the ceiling. The floor was the same dark brown as the one in his room but the carpet was blue, gray and black. The furniture was black and the bed was covered with a dark blue comforter with matching pillows and some smaller white and red ones, the curtains were also dark blue. On the desk there were some pictures of Sasuke and Itachi and a few with the whole family.

"I like your room, it suits you."

"Thanks, I guess. I went with Kakashi and Iruka to buy the paint for the walls and the rest is from my old room."

"You should put some posters or something on the walls. They're empty."

"Yours are too."

"Yeah but I don't have posters, I bet you have some posters with your favorite band or movie to put on."

"I have a better idea though." Naruto looked at him puzzled.

"I'll put some of your drawings on if you don't mind!" Naruto fell on his back in a fit of laughter.

"You're making fun of me?"

"I'm serious.

"I'll think about it then." They stood there is silence for a few minutes before Naruto spoke again. "I lied to you before." His eyes were fixed on the ceiling and Sasuke realized that it must be hard for him to talk about what he was going to say but he was curious and he wasn't going to complain about having to wait a few minutes.

"About what?"

"About not knowing my parents. They died when I was four in a hit and run. I can't remember much about them since I was too young but I remember that day. We were on our way home and we were crossing the street. I ran in front of them leaving them behind only stopping when I reached the sidewalk. A red car came with high speed and all I can remember after that is mom lying on her back with the broken neck twisted in an unnatural position, red blood mixing with her red hair and dad with a broken back after being run over by the car." He laughed but it gave Sasuke the chills "It's ironic how I thought that I was leaving them behind by running in front of them when in fact I was the one being left behind." Sasuke was stunned. Naruto didn't cry but it was obvious that bringing back those memories hurt him. The raven wanted to comfort the blond lying next to him but he didn't really know how and so they stood in silence until Sasuke found the right words to say.

"I'm glad you got left behind though."

"Yeah, you and no one else except for Iruka and maybe Karashi."

"Don't say that. Look…you don't have to tell me everything if you don't want to." Sasuke was surprised to hear the words coming out of his mouth but he meant it. Sure he was curious; he had been waiting to get answers the whole day but if it was hurting Naruto too much he could wait a while longer.

"Actually I do since I messed up again." Naruto shifted his position to look at Sasuke. "After that I developed a second personality and whenever I think I'm in danger he comes out."

"Who's he?"

"People say he calls himself Kyuubi, I can't remember though. He protects me but he also causes a lot of trouble. You must have called him this morning."

"But I didn't do anything to put you in danger."

"I know but I have no control over it." Sasuke put his binder on the floor and laid next to Naruto who was laid on one side with his head propped up on his elbow. He raised a hand and touched Naruto's whisker like scars.

"And what's their story?"

"I got those when I was five. The kids at the orphanage already hated me enough to tie me to the bed and cut these on my face."

"What about your arm?" Naruto released a sigh that he held for a while.

"I never started a fight, Sasuke. I only finished them….well Kyuubi did."

"So they would beat you up until Kyuubi came out."

"Yeah."

"Is that why you pretend to be an idiot? So that people wouldn't fear you?"

"I'm not the smartest kid in class, Sasuke."

"But you're not the dead last everyone thinks you are either."

"That's what kept me safe in school after the stunt last year."

"Don't hide things from me anymore!" Sasuke grabbed Naruto's free hand and laced their fingers.

"What? So now you suddenly care?"

"I didn't care about the idiot that you seemed to be but I guess I care about the real you." Naruto smiled a genuine smile and Sasuke praised himself for being able to make him do that after the tensed moments they shared.

"Now it's your turn to answer me a question."

"Oh and what's that?"

"What are you writing?" Sasuke smirked and Naruto pouted. "You saw my drawings already, it's not fair."

"How about I show you when it's finished. All I can tell you right now is that it's a present for Kakashi and Iruka, for their anniversary. I also want you to add something to it too."

"What?"

"How about that unfinished drawing and make some portraits of us too."

"Why do you want that one?"

"Because it's of our family." He smiled at Naruto and the blond did the same.


	6. Chapter 6

"Will you sit still already?" Naruto asked annoyed. He was working on the portrait that the raven requested a few days ago but Sasuke couldn't stay still for so long so he decided to write in his blue binder.

"I am standing still."

"Yeah but not in the position I need you to be in. I can't see your face at all."

"It's not my fault this is taking you too long."

"If I'm going to do this I'll do my best so of course it takes time."

"Show it to me." Sasuke raised a hand towards Naruto but the blond moved the sketchbook further away.

"Not before it's finished. Now stay still so I can do this." Sasuke put the binder next to him and adopted the position Naruto wanted. "Sasuke?"

"What?"

"Can you give me some tips on how to get a date?" Sasuke burst in a fit of laughter which made Naruto frown. "What's so funny, teme? You think I'm not good enough to get one?"

"No, dobe. I just don't have any tips to give you to wow Sakura."

"How about you ask her to come with us for ice-cream or something. She'll come if you ask her."

"She'll think it's a date with me and she'll ignore you completely. Too troublesome." Naruto laughed.

"You sound like Shikamaru you know that? Besides she can't ignore me, I can be hard to ignore."

"You don't need to tell me about it."

"Please! I'll make you some poster size drawings if you still want me to." Sasuke pondered on that. He would have been happy to get some of Naruto's drawings from his A4 sketchbook but poster size sounded much better. He looked at Naruto who was currently giving him the puppy eyes and a pout. Lately he realized that the blue eyes were messing with his head a lot. At first he hated them because they reminded him of the funeral but at the same time since Naruto moved in he started to heal and the bright blue eyes got a different meaning for him, he became fond of them and never wanted them to look sad or hurt anymore.

"Fine I want five. I don't guaranty anything though." Naruto gave him a bright smile and nodded.

"Done."

Next morning Sasuke and Naruto entered the classroom together like they did lately since they came to school together and Sakura was the first to greet them. Well, she actually greeted Sasuke.

"Ne, Sakura-chan? Do you want to go for ice-cream with us after school?"

"I'll be caught dead near you, Naruto."

"Forget it Naruto it will be fine with just the two of us." Sasuke's voice raised Sakura's interest.

"Are you coming too, Sasuke?"

"Of course. Isn't that what Naruto said?"

"I'll be there but I have to get home first if you don't mind." Sasuke shrugged.

"The two of us will be at the library for a few hours anyway. I guess we can meet at Brittany's Ice at five."

Less than ten minutes later Gaara took his seat next to Sasuke who greeted his best friend and few minutes later Ino, Hinata and Neji also entered the classroom. That was when Sakura couldn't hold in her excitement any longer.

"Guess what, Ino-pig?" she loudly greeted her best friend.

"You sure seem to be in a good mood today forehead girl." The blond put her hands on her hips and Sasuke sighed knowing that a storm was going to start soon. "What?"

"I got a date today!" the pink haired girl brushed it in her friend's face with a tint of superiority in her voice.

"Oh, so you finally decided to act smart and date Lee and leave Sasuke for the best of us?" Ino was not going to let her friend intimidate her….no way. They were best friends but there were limits in friendship too. They could get along very well most of the time and share things but not Sasuke. Sometimes when they fought over him Sasuke wondered if they forgot that he wasn't dating any of them. They were fighting as if trying to protect something that belonged to them when in fact there was nothing to protect. They had nothing.

"No pig, my date is Sasuke." Ino burst into a fit of laughter and Sasuke almost did too but that wasn't like him.

"Yeah, right and I'm Cleopatra." Sakura smirked.

"Cleopatra was not a pig but if you don't believe me ask Sasuke himself. He's right over there." She pointed towards Sasuke's desk. In less than a minute his desk was surrounded by several girls, Sakura included and Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. He began to wonder if Naruto's five poster sized drawing were worth it. He could live without them, but those stupid, worthless drawings were damn cool. His walls were empty and boring and he already had a few ideas of what to ask Naruto to draw. Maybe he should ask for more. Yeah maybe that will diminish his current frustration. He did need something right above his desk too after all.

"Are you dating Sakura now?" the blond asked, her hands still on her hips.

"We're only getting an ice-cream."

"In your face, pig. I told you!"

"Just the two of you?" Ino asked skeptically.

"And Naruto." Ino laughed and the girls left chatting happily as if Sakura had just pulled a prank on them.

"There's no way that's a date, pinky. I mean if it was Sasuke and Haku or Neji or even Sai I would have been jealous but Naruto…."

Sasuke turned to look at Naruto but the blond seemed totally unaffected. He wasn't though, Sasuke knew that by now. He was just good at hiding things. He suddenly felt an elbow hitting him and turned to Gaara.

"What was that all about?"

"What?"

"You asked Sakura to go and grab an ice-cream with you and Naruto?!"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because Naruto asked me to." Gaara stared at Sasuke not really satisfied with his friend's answer and Sasuke sighed "And because there's something I want him to do for me."

"What?"

"You'll be the first one to see when it's done." Sasuke folded his arms on his desk and laid his head on top of them "Gaara…you were right. He's not that bad." He gave Gaara a small smile.

Five o'clock came too fast in Sasuke's opinion. He would have preferred to be doing homework with Naruto in the library or go home and finish his story. Even posing for Naruto sounded better than grabbing ice-cream with Sakura. Well, at least Naruto will be there too.

They entered Brittany's Ice and Naruto looked around but Sakura wasn't there yet so they took a seat at a table close to the window. The blond looked around taking in every detail of the place. The room wasn't big but the mirrors that covered the top part of the walls made it look bigger. Bellow the mirrors the wall was covered in wood panels above which there was a shelf with small flower arrangements with white and light pink flowers in which dominated roses and orchids. Above them, from the white ceiling hung two black chandeliers. The round tables and chairs were also made of wood and on each table there was a black or blue rose.

"You've never been here before?" Sasuke asked a bit amused and Naruto shook his head.

"It's not like the caretakers at the orphanage took us out anywhere." Naruto's eyes were fixed on the black rose on their table. "How can they keep these flowers without water?" he finally voiced his concern.

"They're frozen."

Sakura entered and noticed them immediately.

"Hello Sasuke. Do you like my dress?" She posed a little, then made a pirouette as her final presentation of her outfit. "It's new." Sasuke looked at her with little interest. She was wearing a dark green dress, with pink laces forming an X shape on the sleeves, on the back up to the waist and another one around the neck line. The dress wasn't bad, Sasuke thought, but he was not impressed.

"You look wonderful, Sakura-chan!" Naruto Almost yelled. "So what ice-cream would you like? I'll get it for you." She sat down and moved her chair closer to Sasuke.

"I'll have whatever Sasuke is having." Sasuke was becoming rather uncomfortable with his personal space being invaded.

"In that case I'll get it, it's easier. Naruto what flavors do you want?"

"Coconut and nuts."

"Three scoops."

"Melon." Sasuke went to the counter to place their order leaving Naruto with Sakura alone and wishing once again that it was just him and Naruto.

"Ne, Sakura-chan I didn't think you liked the same ice-cream as Sasuke."

"I don't really know what he likes but whatever he gets will be just perfect."

"Ne….why are you chasing Sasuke so much?" he looked at Sasuke who was still at the counter waiting for their order. The waitress did say that she would bring the order to their table but he would rather stay away from Sakura as much as possible. "I know I asked you this before but I still don't really understand. He made it clear enough that he doesn't like you."

"Does he like someone else?" she asked skeptically "Do you know something that you're not telling me?" she was already leaning over the table and grabbed Naruto's shirt. The blond just shook his head defensively.

"No, not that I know of." She calmed down and went back into her seat.

"Why can't you consider dating someone who likes you though?"

"Naruto? Are you talking about you?" he nodded. Sasuke came back with their order and took a seat making sure to move the chair further away from Sakura.

"Mint, chocolate and pistachio, just like you ordered." Sakura frowned which Sasuke didn't miss. He thought that she didn't know what he liked and just ordered the same thing to impress him.

"I am." Naruto answered her question.

"Why can't you understand it once and for all? I would never date you."

"I get that but why?"

"Because there is nothing to like about you and the rumors are not in your favor. I don't even understand why Kiba became your friend, and what puzzles me more is why Sasuke suddenly hangs out with you. I know you two live together now but he doesn't have to hang out with you."

"I do it because I want to." Sasuke interrupted her rambling and green eyes became wide in surprise.

"But why? Is he blackmailing you?"

"That's ridiculous. I just realized something that you will never realize, that there is more to people than appearance. Naruto was hard to figure out though." They finished their ice-cream in awkward silence then decided to head home. The 'date' was not what Naruto wanted but Sasuke was pleased with himself. He finally gave that girl a piece of his mind and hopefully she will understand that she shouldn't badmouth Naruto in front of him.

Naruto walked quietly slightly behind Sasuke for a while before he spoke.

"You know? I was expecting her to reject me, I just wanted to understand why."

"Does it matter that much to you?"

"Maybe I'll learn to give up on her eventually." Sasuke nodded in approval.

"You know? You're not alone anymore." Sasuke smiled a genuine smile that was usually reserved for Gaara and Naruto smiled back.

A few hours later Sasuke and Naruto were in Sasuke's room. The raven was writing in his binder while Naruto was scrolling Sasuke's playlist. He selected a song from 'Linkin Park' and 'Castle of Glass' was heard from the speakers.

"You know? I prefer 'ATB' when I write." Naruto gave him a quick apologetic look before moving his attention to the phone again.

"Sorry, I'll change it now."

"No, I can't concentrate to write anyway."

"Am I disturbing you?" Naruto looked at him apologetically once again.

"No. Hey why don't you put music on your phone. I want to see what you like." Naruto fished his phone out of his pocket and gave it to Sasuke before putting 'Linkin Park' on pause. "You choose."

Sasuke took the phone and selected a band he has never heard of before. He played 'Foster the People – Helena Beat'.

Sometimes life it takes you by the hair  
It pulls you down before you know it  
It's gone and you're dead again.  
I've been in places and I won't pretend  
That I'd make it out just to fall on my head  
Wake up strange and take the walk downstairs  
Hit the pawn up on the corner and pay for my rent  
You know that I could not believe my own truth  
Just show them what I choose, got nothing to lose

"This song is not so bad. You know Sakura doesn't know what she's missing by not dating you."

"Do you really think that?"

"Sure."

Yeah yeah and it's O.K.  
I tie my hands up to a chair so I don't fall that way.  
Yeah yeah and I'm alright.  
I took a sip of something poisoned but I'll hold on tight

"You know how I said that I wanted to date Sakura and I really did but…I'm kind of scared of what would happen afterwards… "

"Are you talking about the kissing?" Sasuke teased "Are you a bad kisser?"

"What? No!" Naruto punched him in the shoulder "I'm talking about Kyuubi. She would find out about that sooner or later if we dated, right?"

"See, you're better off without her."

You know those days when you want to just choose  
To not get out of bed, you're lost in your head again.  
You play the game but you kind of cut  
'Cause you're coming down hard and your joints are all stuck.  
I tried to say that's not the only way  
I never knew if I could face myself to change.  
You were pacing I was insecure.  
Slip and fall, I got the calls from the prison I've been living in.

"Yeah but that basically means I can't date anyone until I find a way to fix that problem."

"Look, you shouldn't blame yourself for that. You developed a double personality because of the shock. Damn it Naruto, I can't even imagine how messed up I would be if I saw my parents' accident happen in front of my eyes. If they can't accept you the way you are then they don't deserve you."

Yeah yeah and it's O.K.  
I tie my hands up to a chair so I don't fall that way.  
Yeah yeah and I'm alright.  
I took a sip of something poisoned but I'll hold on tight.

Yeah yeah and it's O.K.  
I tie my hands up to a chair so I don't fall that way.  
Yeah yeah and I'm alright.  
I took a sip of something poisoned,  
Took a sip of something poisoned, poisoned.

"Are you OK with it?"

"With what? Kyuubi?" Naruto nodded.

"I'd lie if I said I wasn't scared but I don't blame you and besides we can avoid calling him, right?"

"I sure hope Iruka is right and Ibiki sensei can help." Sasuke moved from his position until he was above Naruto.

"And if he doesn't we'll figure something out." He gently pressed his lips against Naruto's only to be pushed back by an angry blond.

"What the fuck are you doing, Sasuke?" he got up in a sitting position and pierced the black eyes.

"Was it that bad?"

"I can't do this like you and Gaara…without emotion. I can't take Gaara's place for you."

"Of course you can't and I don't expect you to."

"Then why?"

"I guess I was curious… if it was different with you." Now Naruto looked more surprised than angry.

"I thought you weren't gay."

"I'm not, I'm bi."

"So….did you find your answer?" Sasuke shook his head.

"You pushed me away too fast."

"Do you want to try that again?"

"Do you want me to?"

"I guess I'm curious now too. I never thought about kissing anyone else but Sakura." Sasuke moved closer and looked in Naruto's blue eyes for a brief moment looking for consent then pressed his lips against Naruto's with a bit more confidence than before. He closed his eyes and focused on the feeling. Naruto wasn't kissing back which made him insecure and annoyed him. He moved back a little to get air and opened his eyes to look at Naruto who was blushing slightly. That brought back his confidence and tried again. This time Naruto kissed him back.

Sasuke pulled back and looked at the blushing blond.

"So?" Naruto asked.

"You're terrible at this." Naruto furrowed his brows.

"Well, sorry for not having your talent and experience, teme." Sasuke smirked.

"I wouldn't mind doing it again though. Would you?"

"So…what does this make us?" They both lay on the bed side by side.

"What do you want us to be?" Naruto shrugged.

"Maybe we'll figure it out later." Sasuke nodded and grabbed Naruto's hand lacing their fingers together.


	7. Chapter 7

Sasuke went to his room closing the door with a loud thud. He jumped on his bed without bothering to chance his clothes and played 'Linkin Park' on the phone. Silent tears fell down his cheeks but he didn't bother to wipe them off.

The day before, Kakashi told him that he got a phone from the hospital and that Itachi was awake and they could visit him so they planned to visit the next day after school.

They all went to the hospital and Kakashi talked to the doctor further down the hall for a while before he joined them and they all took the elevator to the third floor where Itachi's room was.

"Itachi-kun you have visitors. Isn't it wonderful?" the nurse said and motioned them to enter the room before excusing herself and leaving the room. Sasuke ran by Itachi's bed and wrapped his arms around his older brother's torso in a tight embrace. Itachi put an arm around his shoulder and ruffled his hair with the other.

"I'm sorry but I didn't get your name." The older raven said.

"I am Umino Iruka."

"And you are…."

"Kakashi's boyfriend."

"Then you must be Kakashi." Sasuke's eyes went wide against Itachi's chest. He pulled back and his body became stiff. He turned around to look at an equally shocked Iruka and at Kakashi who put a hand on his shoulder in comfort.

"Yes. I am a friend of your late father. I'm sorry for your loss."

"Nii-san you don't remember Kakashi?" Sasuke finally asked.

"I'm sorry but my memory fails me."

"Do you remember me?" Itachi shook his head.

"I'm sorry. The doctor said it might take a while to get my memory back." Sasuke turned around once again and black eyes met blue ones. Memories from the funeral invaded his mind once again. Sasuke standing on the edge of the hole as the coffins were lowered down, then turning around to meet the same blue eyes….tears falling down and him hiding them from said blue eyes.

Now he realized that seeing those blue eyes was comforting. Silent tears watered his cheeks but he didn't wipe them or hide them.

Naruto just stood there just like back then but Sasuke didn't want him to do anything else. Being there was enough; it was all he needed to know that he wasn't alone. It was comforting.

The door to his room opened but he didn't hear it over the loud music. He only noticed the other presence in the room when Naruto laid on the bed next to him, taking one of his headphones and putting it in his own ear.

"You know…" the raven started not moving his eyes from the ceiling "when Itachi woke up I thought that things would go back to normal… well, as normal as they can be since mom and dad are dead."

"Give it time. He woke up, that's a first step for the better, right?"

"I guess but didn't I wait enough?" sensing the frustration in Sasuke's voice, Naruto grabbed his hand.

"I know it's hard but remember that you're not alone. You have Kakashi, Iruka and me. You'll be fine and so will Itachi. Think about the fact that you can see him now and maybe you can help him remember if you talk to him." Sasuke squeezed Naruto's hand.

"I'll visit as often as I can."

Naruto nodded and got up.

"Now change into something comfortable because you still have to pose for me or I'm not going to finish your portrait in time for Iruka and Kakashi's anniversary."

The day when Iruka and Kakashi celebrated three years since they started dating came fast.

Iruka wanted a nice home cooked dinner with the entire family and then maybe they could do something together like watch a movie or play a board game. He spent a few hours flipping through recipes to pick the perfect cake which annoyed Kakashi just a bit. He wasn't about to spend an entire morning on a special day cooking and baking.

Not that Kakashi's perverted mind wasn't cooking anything…oh, it was. A nice dinner in a fancy restaurant, just the two of them, followed by a nice evening in a nice hotel room where he could put in practice what he learned from Icha Icha. Ok, he would have to improvise a little since Iruka was a guy…but no problem.

But no, Iruka had to ruin his perfect plan by saying that he will not leave the boys out of this now that they are part of the family. Maybe he could change his own plan a little to please Iruka. They could have the nice home cooked dinner that Iruka wanted, and since he wanted it he would have to make it too, and he could drug the boys so they would go to bed early. Iruka would have to skip the movie and board game and they could…do something more interesting and fun.

While Iruka was in the kitchen baking the cake Kakashi was planning the after dinner activities with a little help from Icha Icha Paradise, a book that he read five times already….or was that six.

Sasuke gave Naruto a gray binder that the blond took confused.

"What's this?"

"The story. I finished it." Naruto grinned.

"Really? Can I read it?"

"Of course, dobe. That's why I'm giving it to you."

"Great! Oh and before I forget…." He went to his desk and grabbed some sheets of paper that were propped beside it, hidden from Sasuke's eyes. "I finished your drawings." He gave Sasuke the sheets.

"Thanks. When you finish reading that tell me what you think." Naruto nodded and made himself comfortable on his bed as Sasuke left the room.

As soon as Sasuke left Naruto's room he fished his phone from his pocket and texted Gaara.

'Can you come over?'

'Something wrong?'

'No, but I told you that I'll show you what I wanted Naruto to do for me in exchange for that date.'

'Right. I'll be right over.'

Half an hour later Gaara closed the room to Sasuke's door and took a seat on his bed.

"So what is it?"

"I'll show you but first you have to promise me something." Gaara tilted his head slightly.

"What's that?"

"That you won't tell anyone about this."

"You make it sound illegal."

"It's not but I need you to promise."

"Fine." Sasuke handed Gaara the sheets of paper he got from Naruto. He didn't look at them yet since he wanted to see them for the first time with Gaara.

"I need you to help me put them on the walls." Gaara laid them on the bed one by one. The first one was a blue dragon flying with a red cloudy sky in the background; the second was of a swordsman with a hawk on his shoulder and a wolf by his side, all done in black charcoal; the third was a red nine tailed fox demon with a black forest in the background; the forth was of two angels, one black and the other white with red and blue roses in the background; the fifth was of a raven and a cross and the last one was of a raven and a weasel. Sasuke decided that the last one was going above his desk.

"Where did Naruto get these from?" Gaara asked. "They're impressive." Sasuke smiled at him.

"Aren't they? He made them."

"You're joking, right?"

"No. That's the secret I need you to keep."

"Why would this be a secret? These are awesome."

"He has his reasons that I can't talk about. Sorry."

They barely finished putting the posters on the walls and were admiring their work when Naruto entered the room with the binder in his hand. He didn't realize Gaara came over or he would have knocked.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked surprised to see Gaara and embarrassed for reasons that Sasuke could only guess.

"No. So what do you think?"

"I was surprised to be honest. I didn't expect you to write your story but I liked it, I feel like I got to know you better after reading this. I like the title too 'Days of Our Lives' but why is there a blank page at the end?"

"That's for you. Do whatever you want with it." Naruto nodded and turned to leave the room when Sasuke stopped him. "Where are you going?"

"I need a pencil."

"You can take one of mine. I want to see what you're going to do with it." Naruto looked at Sasuke silently pleading not to make him do that in front of Gaara. "Gaara won't tell if you don't want him too."

"You told him I made those drawings?" the blond asked pointing at the wall. From his voice Sasuke could tell that he felt hurt and betrayed.

"Don't be like that, it's just Gaara." Sasuke tried to reason with him feeling just a little bit bad for not asking Naruto if he could tell Gaara in the first place.

"If that's how you feel why don't you tell him everything?" Naruto yelled and left the room. A part of Sasuke wanted to follow him and apologize but his pride prevented him from doing what his heart told him he should do.

"Am I missing something?" Gaara asked puzzled and Sasuke fell on his bed releasing a sigh.

"I guess he trusted me and I messed up."

"But I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."

"I know. It's just that Naruto kept this a secret since…forever. He didn't even let Kiba see his sketchbook. I can't explain you why but I thought that showing you this wouldn't hurt anyone since you're my best friend and I trust you."

"Maybe you should apologize."

"Later."

About half an hour later Naruto entered the room again throwing the binder at Sasuke who caught it, then left without a word. He was still angry at Sasuke, that much was obvious. The raven opened the binder at the last page where a nine tailed fox in chains looked at him with an angry face. On one of the chains with small letters that were only a shade darker than the chain was written Kyuubi. Sasuke could have easily missed it but he had an eye for detail. At the bottom of the page were just two words 'Thank you'.

Gaara left just before Iruka called the boys to dinner and when Naruto came into the living room things became awkward. Iruka noticed of course. He had a teacher's experience after all.

"Now what's with the sad faces?" he asked in a playful tone attempting to lighten up the mood but failing. Sasuke looked at Naruto from the corner of his eye but the blond didn't notice since he was busy filling his plate with potatoes.

"Nothing." He said sitting back down when he was satisfied with the amount of potatoes on his plate. "Ittadakimasu."

"Now Naruto, you know you can talk to us about anything, right?" Iruka turned to Sasuke "And so can you."

Sasuke nodded but felt a little guilty about the whole thing. Iruka was concerned about them and this was his special day. He should have fun and enjoy it and Sasuke was the one who ruined it for him and Kakashi. He didn't mean to hurt anyone but he got carried away by the excitement he felt when Naruto gave him the drawings and he wanted to share that excitement with his best friend. He wanted to enjoy his room's new look with Gaara and didn't feel anything wrong in telling his best friend who made the drawings.

As a matter of fact he was proud of Naruto and he wanted to brag but he would never admit that to anyone.

Ever since they moved in with Kakashi and Iruka, Naruto managed to crawl in the raven's heart day by day and Sasuke could not ignore him anymore, he didn't want to ignore Naruto. He discovered a person that he never knew before, a person he grew fond of, a person that gave his life a new meaning.

"Ano sa…" Naruto started exited "Sasuke has something to give you." He grinned and that made Iruka smile too.

"Really? What could it be?" Iruka asked with a bit of excitement in his voice.

Naruto looked at Sasuke and when the blue eyes met black Sasuke felt Naruto very distant even though they were sitting next to one another. None the less he felt grateful that the blond managed to distract Iruka and lighten up the mood so he decided to play along and keep the nice cozy atmosphere in the family. He went to his room to fetch the gray binder and gave it to Iruka.

The smile that warmed Iruka's face when he opened it made Sasuke very happy. He hoped that both Iruka and Kakashi would like his present….their present, even though it wasn't much. The story of his life since the day he was informed about the accident until then was after all his way of telling them how much he appreciated what they did for him. He knew he could never tell them that out loud but still wanted them to know.

He wanted Naruto to know too. He needed Naruto to know what an important role he played in his life ever since the funeral but he couldn't write a story and give Naruto a binder. That wouldn't be fair to the blond who got to know him better than the two adults in this amount of time, the blond he had kissed once. He needed to tell Naruto that but talking to him now seemed harder than ever.

The entire evening was spent in a pleasant atmosphere that Iruka and Kakashi deserved an atmosphere that Naruto skillfully crated by pretending that everything was alright. He even talked to Sasuke when they played board games but Sasuke knew he was far from being alright. They only talked about game related things and then about what movie to watch.

It was only a few hours but Sasuke could barely stand it any longer. At some point he even wished that Naruto yelled at him, get everything he was holding in out of his system and then they could make up but Naruto was not like that. No, Naruto held things in even though no one could guess that based on what he showed. Because he was loud and talkative people assumed that he showed everything he felt but Sasuke knew better. Most of what Naruto showed was just an act.

He had to solve the problem with Naruto, he had to make things right. He couldn't bear to know Naruto sad anymore.

After the movie Kakashi dragged Iruka away from the kitchen saying that they could do the dishes the next day and Naruto went to his room after saying 'Goodnight'. Sasuke was the only one left in the living room. He had to do this right away but how? What would he tell Naruto? Just go with the flow…that would be awkward. Was there any other option? He went to Naruto's door and paused in front of it for about a minute before knocking.

"Yeah?" He opened the door but didn't step in like he always did since he thought that he might not be welcomed. Naruto looked at him but said nothing.

"Can I come in?"

"I don't see anything stopping you." Naruto got back to the drawing he was working on and Sasuke went to sit by his side on the bed. The silence between them was awkward and Sasuke felt tensed.

"Can I see that?" He raised a hand to get Naruto's sketchbook.

"Why did you come here?" Naruto let it slip away from his grip. He looked at the drawing. It was only a flock of butterflies however there was something sad about it that Sasuke couldn't put his finger on. Maybe when it was finished….

"I'm sorry. I didn't think that it would upset you that much if Gaara knew."

"I didn't want anyone to know….not even you. I assumed you knew that."

"Look, I was proud with the posters you made for me and I got carried away and told Gaara, ok? I didn't tell him anything else." Naruto looked at him with narrow eyes as if trying to figure out if he was lying or not then sighed.

"Since he's your boyfriend he might not say anything."

"Will you stop saying that stuff?" Sasuke was irritated "He's not my boyfriend." But at least he felt more comfortable now than he did when he entered the room. Naruto's teasing was probably his way of releasing anger. He could understand that.

"Right, and I'm not crazy." Sasuke smirked.

"That doesn't even make any sense, dobe. You're just confirming what I said."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are because you're not crazy. And don't start giving me that Kyuubi shit. That doesn't make you crazy." Naruto smiled at him and just like that things went back to normal again. How did Naruto even do it?

"I'm still angry with you, you know but I guess I'll get over it eventually if you promise not to tell anyone else." Sasuke nodded. "I guess I just needed you to say that you were sorry."

"I am." He put a hand behind Naruto's head pulling it closer to him until their foreheads touched. "Let's not fight again." Naruto nodded and Sasuke closed the distance between them for a brief moment. He pulled back smiling "I told you I wouldn't mind doing it again."


End file.
